The Bosavi woolly rat is an undescribed putative species of rodent. It was discovered in the extinct volcanic crater of Mount Bosavi in Papua New Guinea during 2009 by a documentary crew filming Lost Land of the Volcano. One of the world's largest rats, it is believed to belong to the genus Mallomys of the family Muridae, according to initial investigation, although this has yet to be published. The name "Bosavi woolly rat" is still provisional, and a scientific name has yet to be given.

History

In 2009, a group of cameramen, trackers from the Kasua tribe, and biologists were in Mount Bosavi's extinct volcanic crater, over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level, to film Lost Land of the Volcano, a wildlife documentary for BBC.[1][2] The crater had rarely been explored by humans before then.[3] While attempting to search for new species,[4] the crew captured footage of the rodent using infrared camera, and suspected that the species had not been discovered before. They could not confirm the discovery until they witnessed the animal physically, so the trackers traveling with the crew managed to trap a live specimen.[5][6][7] The rat was one of over 30 animal species that the researchers found in the crater,[8] but the crater may contain 40 undocumented species.[9]

The rim of Mount Bosavi's extinct volcanic crater, where the Bosavi woolly rat is found.

As of 2025, the Bosavi woolly rat does not have an official scientific name,[10][11][3] but it is thought to be in the genus Mallomys, within the family Muridae.[12][3][11] It is to be named by Dr. Kristofer Helgen, a mammalogist from Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution, and his colleagues.[5][10] Helgen was a member of the crew that found the woolly rat.[13]

The rat is the subject of a 2022 children's picture book by Lara Hawthorne titled "Ratty's Big Adventure".[14]

Description

The Bosavi woolly rat is one of the world's largest rats, with a length of 82 centimetres (32 in) including its tail.[15][16] The rodent weighs around 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) and has a silver-brown coat of long, thick, coarse fur,[17][3][13][18] which protects it from the low temperatures and moisture that appears during the crater's winter.[19][20] A captured specimen was docile and showed no fear of humans when it was handled as it had not experienced them before,[21][22][23] and simply ignored the crew to eat a leaf instead.[20] Gordon Buchanan, the first member of the crew to discover the rat,[20][24] said that its teeth suggested it was vegetarian, a claim supported by Helgen. He also speculated that it nested in trees or burrowed underground.[25][7][23]

The rat is native to Papua New Guinea and currently has only been found inside Mt. Bosavi's crater.[23][26] Deforestation near the crater could endanger its habitat.[6][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Haines, Lester (7 September 2009). "Explorers unearth cat-sized rat". The Register. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  2. ^ Greenwood, Steve (8 September 2009). "The moment we found a Bosavi woolly rat - an animal totally new to science". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Walker, Matt (6 September 2009). "Giant rat found in 'lost volcano'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  4. ^ Lemonick, Michael D. (8 December 2009). "The Top 10 Everything of 2009". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b Walker, Matt (6 September 2009). "Giant rat found in 'lost volcano'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b "New giant rat species discovered". CNN. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  7. ^ a b "New species of giant rat discovered in crater of volcano in Papua New Guinea". Smithsonian. 9 September 2009.
  8. ^ Walsh, Bryan (21 September 2009). "The Moment". Time International - South Pacific Edition. Vol. 174, no. 11. p. 5.
  9. ^ Tousignant, Marylou (May 2010). "What's New?". National Geographic Extreme Explorer. Vol. 3, no. 7. pp. 8–15. ISSN 1938-8004.
  10. ^ a b "Science Notebook". Science News. 176 (8): 4. 2009. doi:10.1002/scin.5591760703. JSTOR 40384347.
  11. ^ a b Rees, Paul A. (29 March 2011). An Introduction to Zoo Biology and Management. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4443-9783-3.
  12. ^ "Mallomys aroaensis - Plazi TreatmentBank". treatment.plazi.org. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Discovered - species of rat as big as a cat". Belfast Telegraph. 7 September 2009. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Ratty's Big Adventure". Kirkus Reviews. 8 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Oh, rats!". Los Angeles Times. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  16. ^ Miller, Tracy (8 September 2009). "Bosavi woolly rat, new species of giant rodent, discovered in Papua New Guinea volcano crater". New York Daily News. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  17. ^ Horton, Helena (15 April 2016). "New giant species of rat discovered". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Giant rats, tiny parrots found in 'lost world'". CBC News. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  19. ^ Vincent, Catherine (12 September 2009). "Quarante nouvelles espèces découvertes dans un "monde perdu" de Papouasie". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  20. ^ a b c Booth, Jenny (7 September 2009). "New species of giant woolly rat discovered by BBC film crew". The Times. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  21. ^ DK (21 March 2011). Animals Alive: The Fight for Survival in the Wild. Penguin. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7566-8212-5.
  22. ^ Parker, Steve (2013). Extinction : not the end of the world?. Natural History Museum, London. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-565-09321-1.
  23. ^ a b c Clough, G. Wayne (1 May 2019). Things New and Strange: A Southerner's Journey through the Smithsonian Collections. University of Georgia Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-8203-5523-8.
  24. ^ Lewis, Tim (9 February 2025). "'It's about escaping from yourself': wildlife presenter Gordon Buchanan". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  25. ^ Buchanan, Gordon (6 February 2025). In the Hide: How the Natural World Saved My Life. Random House. ISBN 978-1-5299-4024-4.[page needed]
  26. ^ "Szczur gigant z głębin wulkanu". Wyborcza (in Polish). 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosavi_woolly_rat
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